Going The Extra Mile for MDUK

On the weekend of 12th May, my amazing brother and his two friends took on The National Three Peaks Challenge. This involves climbing the three highest peaks of Scotland, England and Wales, within 24 hours.

The total walking distance is 23 miles (37km) and the total ascent is 3064 metres 6o(10,052ft). The total driving distance is 462 miles.

The three mountains are:

As you may already know, I have lived my entire life with a rare form of MD – Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy. Having witnessed his little sister grow up with the effects of this muscle-wasting condition, my brother decided he wanted to do something – something big! – to help make a difference to the lives of others living with MD. That something is the National Three Peaks Challenge.

Report from my brother:

Friday 11th May: We drove ourselves from Worcestershire and stopped overnight at a place called Fort William in Scotland.

Saturday 12th May: The challenge began at 16:40 as we started to climb Ben Nevis, in sunny but very warm weather (a little too warm). We peaked in 2 hours 10 mins, reaching the snowy summit at 18:50. Visibility was perfect and gave us spectacular panoramic views of the other mountains in the area.

Ben Nevis, accomplished!Ben Nevis! One peak down, two to go…

We then ran down to the car in a total of 3 hours 45 mins, before driving through the night to the hamlet of Wasdale Head in the Lake District, to start our climb up Scafell Pike.

04:19 – Peaked at Scafell Pike

Sunday 13th May: It was pitch black and rainy all the way up to the top (04:19), but the weather cleared on the way down and the Sun started to rise, making it easier to navigate. However, our descent took longer than we hoped due to extremely slippy rocks underfoot, combined with a lack of sleep.

View over Wast Water at first light during descent down Scafell Pike

Finally, we drove on to Pen-y-Pass in Snowdonia to begin our climb up Snowdon. The weather was perfect – sunny with very clear visibility. We took the Miners Track up to the summit (12:30) and then the Pyg Track back down.

The hardest part for me was the first 30 mins of our trek up Ben Nevis. It gets incredibly steep straight away and in the extreme heat I soon got jelly legs. But as we got closer to the summit, it cooled down and I was able to splash my face with cold water from the stream coming down the mountain.

Collectively, we all found the biggest challenge was to keep going despite the lack of sleep. It was hard to maintain enough energy and endurance to stay focused and not trip over!

Challenge completed at: 14:43 in 22 hours 3 mins

I would like to say a personal thank you to the best big brother anyone could ever wish for! We don’t do gushy at all, so he’s probably reading this wondering why I’m being so nice. Rob – you know how I feel. Loves you more x

The bro x

To Adam & Dan – thank you both for being such good friends and for selflessly offering your time and efforts. It means more than you realise.

To anyone reading this, please share the link and if possible, make a donation to support the great work of Muscular Dystrophy UK: